Review & Giveaway: MURDER IN AN IRISH VILLAGE by Carlene O’Connor

Today, as part of a Blog Tour organized by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, it is my pleasure to tell you about a delightful new cozy mystery – Murder in an Irish Village, by Carlene O’Connor.

Synopsis

A little slice of Heaven on the Emerald Isle…

In the small village of Kilbane, County Cork, Ireland, Naomi’s Bistro has always been a warm and welcoming spot to visit with neighbors, enjoy some brown bread and tea, and get the local gossip. Nowadays twenty-two-year-old Siobhán O’Sullivan runs the family bistro named for her mother, along with her five siblings, after the death of their parents in a car crash almost a year ago.

It’s been a rough year for the O’Sullivans, but it’s about to get rougher. One morning, as they’re opening the bistro, they discover a man seated at a table, dressed in a suit as if for his own funeral, a pair of hot pink barber scissors protruding from his chest.

With the local garda suspecting the O’Sullivans, and their business in danger of being shunned–murder tends to spoil the appetite–it’s up to feisty redheaded Siobhán to solve the crime and save her beloved brood.

My Review

Murder in an Irish Village is a light and enjoyable cozy mystery. Siobhán is an admirable young woman with a strong sense of love, loyalty and responsibility to her siblings. She is not easily deterred in her efforts to protect them, even when if it means putting herself in danger. You can’t help rooting for her. The story moved along at a nice pace, with bits of suspense and romance mixed in.

I especially enjoyed the glimpse into a fictional Irish village, where everybody knows everyone’s business. If it weren’t for the elements of modern technology (cellphones and such), the story could almost have taken place in a different era. The Irish slang that peppered the text was for the most part easily understood based on context and added authentic flavor to the dialog and settings. Even so, the author does provide a short glossary of Irish expressions to help the reader bridge the potential language gap.

FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book as part of this blog tour. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.

About the Author

Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers, or professional liars as she prefers to call herself. Her great grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America during The Troubles, and the stories have been flowing ever since. She has dual citizenship and divides her time between New York and the Emerald Isle. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired by the town to create Kilbane, County Cork.

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The reviews on this blog reflect my opinions after having personally read those books. In any instance where an author has provided a copy for reviewing purposes, this is clearly indicated in the respective blog post and does not influence my opinions as expressed in my review.

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